CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. — Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) plans to build the world's first commercial fusion energy power plant in Virginia. This multi-billion dollar project slated for Chesterfield County was announced on Tuesday.
"Fusion is what powers the stars, and we are basically trying to build a star here on Earth and use it to make electricity," Chief Engineer Alex Creely said. “In fusion, you take small atoms, combine them together to form bigger atoms like helium, and that releases a bunch of energy. We’ll take that energy and use it to make electricity and then use that electricity to power anything that you want.”
CFS, along with local and state leaders, say the plant could provide clean and safe energy for hundreds of homes and create hundreds of jobs.
Those involved in the project say it is safe because the fusion process will stop automatically if exposed to air.
According to the project plans, energy will be produced through a donut-shaped machine using magnets that will produce 400 megawatts of net electricity, enough to power roughly 150,000 homes in the region for 20 years or more.
"We’re just thrilled they chose to do it in Virginia. I literally had to pinch myself today,” Governor Glenn Youngkin said at the announcement.
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Company looks to build fusion power plant in Chesterfield
CFS plans to build the fusion power plant in Chesterfield, specifically at Dominion Energy's existing site at the James River Industrial Complex.
"What we learn is how to integrate a fusion power plant into the grid, which will naturally have to happen for all future fusion power plants," said CFS co-founder and CEO Bob Mumgaar in a video explaining the project. "Dominion is going to learn about fusion, so after this, we should have fusion actually as a template going forward."
Youngkin said it would not impact Dominion ratepayers.
“They will be providing the power either to the customer or series to customers, or directly into the PJM power grid, but they are not putting this on the back of Dominion rate-payers," Youngkin said. “The state is growing, we need more power, and this is part of the solution."
The state and Chesterfield County are investing about $2 million total into the project, and Youngkin told reporters Chesterfield County plans to invest an additional $10 million for long-term advancement.
The plant will be located in the Bermuda District of Chesterfield County.
"They've been looking for approximately two years, and Chesterfield only became an option to them in the last four to six months," said Chesterfield Supervisor Jim Ingle, who represents the Bermuda District. "It was shared today that they can bring in all the fuel to run the plant for 20 years on one tractor-trailer. I think that is truly amazing and that shows that we're not bringing in something that is dangerous or harmful to the community. We're bringing in something very positive and we're going to be able to help meet the energy demand that we have in the area."
Adam Stein, Director of the Nuclear Energy Innovation program at the Breakthrough Institute, published an article earlier this year on nuclear fusion energy, calling it a "tricky commercial case to overcome."
"Making progress is different from having a product available," Stein wrote. "First-generation stations are likely to be costly and unreliable — that is just part of innovation. Still, assuming we're going to move away from fossil fuels, that population grow dramatically increases, and developing nations' demand for energy continues to grow, there's a vast potential market for all clean energy sources moving forward."
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